Delhi Court Discharges Kejriwal, Sisodia, Kavitha in Liquor Policy Case
Says no material evidence to support allegations in the excise policy case; terms CBI chargesheet voluminous but riddled with gaps and unsupported claims.
A Delhi court on Friday discharged former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal in the corruption case linked to the alleged liquor policy scam.
Special Judge Jitender Singh of the Rouse Avenue Court Complex also discharged senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia in the case.
In a significant development, the court discharged all 23 accused persons, including K. Kavitha, daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.
The CBI has been probing alleged corruption in the formulation and execution of the erstwhile-AAP government's now-scrapped excise policy.
Special Judge Jitendra Singh rapped the federal agency for lapses in investigation, saying there was no cogent evidence against Kejriwal, while there was no prima facie case against Sisodia.
He underlined "some misleading averments" and said that the voluminous chargesheet had several lacunas not corroborated by evidence or witnesses.
"...The chargesheet suffers from internal contradictions, striking at the root of conspiracy theory," Judge Singh said.
He said that in the absence of any evidence, the allegations against Kejriwal could not be sustained and that the former chief minister was implicated without any cogent evidence.
This, the judge said, was inconsistent with the rule of law.
Regarding Sisodia, the judge said there was no material on record showing his involvement, nor was any recovery made from him.
A detailed order is awaited.
